The way your customers pay in stores is changing.

Chip cards are here in the U.S. to provide advanced security with every transaction. Accepting chip cards could be as simple as changing your payment terminal.

Have you spotted a chip on some of your customers’ credit and debit cards?

Show your customers that you care about their information security by making the move to chip. This will ensure that your business and your customers are protected from fraud. So let’s get ready to go chip!

Does your customer have a chip card? Check for the chip.

What do you need to accept a chip payment?

You will need to get a chip-enabled terminal from your payment services provider. These have all of the features you’re used to, with the addition of a slot for the customer to insert their chip card. The slot is typically located at the bottom or top of the payment terminal.

How are chip cards used to pay in store?

These basic steps will help ensure a successful transaction:

During the transition to chip, customers are being told to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If you have chip-enabled terminals and you see that your customer has a chip card, you can tell them to insert their card for a chip transaction.

The customer should insert their card with the chip toward the terminal, facing up. The chip card should not be removed until the customer is prompted by the terminal.

The customer will provide their signature or PIN as prompted by the terminal. Some transactions may not require either.

When the terminal says the transaction is complete, the customer can remove their card.

Did you know that you may be liable for fraud if you don’t make the change to chip terminals?

The rules are changing. Starting October 2015, merchants that accept chip will be protected from fraud losses resulting from in store counterfeit magnetic stripe card transactions just as you are today. However, liability will shift from issuers to merchants if their payment terminals are not chip-enabled for in store transactions. Fraud liability for lost or stolen cards varies by payment network. Contact your acquirer or payment services providers for more information and to see if chip terminals are right for your business.

Chip card transactions offer you advanced security for in store payments by making every transaction unique. And, your chip card is more difficult to counterfeit or copy. If the card data and the one-time code are stolen, the information cannot be used to create counterfeit cards and commit fraud.

During the transition to chip, customers are being told to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If you have chip-enabled terminals and you see that your customer has a chip card, you can tell them to insert their card for a chip transaction. These basic steps will help your customers pay successfully in your store:

The customer should insert their card with chip toward terminal, facing up. The chip card should not be removed until the customer is prompted.

The customer will provide their signature or PIN as prompted by the terminal. Some transactions may not require either.

When the terminal says the transaction is complete, the customer can remove their card.

If the customer has questions, remind them to follow the prompts on the terminal and leave their card inserted until prompted to remove.

Chip-enabled terminals have all of the features you are used to with a payment terminal, with the addition of a slot for the customer to insert their card. The slot is typically located at the bottom or the top of the payment terminal.

During the transition to chip, customers are being told to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If you have chip-enabled terminals and you see that your customer has a chip card, you can tell them to insert their card for a chip transaction.

Your investment in new terminals will pay off by building trust and loyalty with your customers. You can let them know you have made the change on your website or by advertising, in store and point of sale signage, social media, email and direct mail. You can also use your receipts, your staff and your call centers to let customers know that you care about their safety and security. Download the best practices for customer communication.

Teach your cashiers to coach the customer. If they notice that the customer has a chip card they should tell them to insert the card to do a chip transaction. Remind customers to leave the card in the terminal and follow the prompts. Then make sure the customer takes their card when the transaction is completed.